Polar Bears Could Face Extinction Earlier Than Thought

Polar bears could become extinct faster than predicted. That is because there is a shortage of food in their habitat and scientists have now found out that polar bears need more energy than previously thought.

As a result of global warming, Arctic ice is melting quickly, so that polar bears have to travel further in search of food. In a study that has spanned the last three years, scientists found out that polar bears have to travel one and a half times more than in the past. As a result, they lose weight.

Experiments conducted with modern technology show how polar bears move and behave. High-tech GPScollars were put on 9 female polar bears. Their movements and energy consumption have been tracked over a period of 12 days. Results show that a few of them lost up to 10%of their weight.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, polar bears spend half of their time hunting for something to eat. They rely mostly on young seals as the main source of food, but the seal population is getting scarce because of the melting ice.

A polar bear needs about 12000 kilocalories a day to stay healthy and even more to put on the body fat it needs to survive the winter months.

Over the past ten years, the number of polar bears has declined by 40%. Ice on their habitat, Arctic Sea ice is decreasing at a rate of 14% per decade. It is currently at its lowest level in 40 years.

Polar bear feeding on a dead seal – Image: AWeith

Words

according to = as reported by …

behave = act in certain situations

body fat = here: the fat an animal needs to protect itself from the cold weather

collar = band of leather or plastic that is around an animal’s neck

conduct = carry out

currently = at the moment

decade = ten years

decline = to go down

decrease = become lower

energy consumption = the amount of energy you need and use up

extinct = to die out and not exist anymore

global warming = increase in the atmosphere’s temperature caused by more carbon dioxide and other gases

further = a longer distance

GPS = system that shows where your position is on earth through a system of radio signals

habitat = natural home of a plant or animal

lose weight = become thinner

melt = when ice turns into water

predict = to say that something will happen before it does

previously = at an earlier time

rely = here: eat

scarce = not very much left

scientist = person who is trained in science and works in a lab

seal = large sea animal that eats fish and lives near coasts

shortage = not enough

source = where something comes from

span = period of time between two events

study = piece of work that is done to find out more about a subect

survive = stay alive

track = monitor, watch closely

World Wildlife Fund = organisation that wants to protect the environment and save animals and plants